After a successful NCAA East First Round meet on May 27-30, 10 Rebels will represent Ole Miss across six events at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore.
Thirty-four total Rebels competed at the east meet, which is one of two “regionals” in the country and is made up of the entire eastern half of the United States. In order to earn a spot at the national meet, competitors had to finish in the top 12 for individual events and in the top 12 for relays.
The Rebels will be well represented across their six events, most notably in the men and women’s 4×100-meter relay
In the men’s relay competition, just 0.81 seconds separated the winner from the No. 12 place cutoff team. After a full season that saw the Rebels break the school record, the Rebel relay team of Dekell Minor, Jordan Urrutia, Wesley Todd and Tarique Wright placed No. 10 and secured their spot at the national championships.
In the women’s competition, the Lady Rebels ran 43.52 seconds to take the No. 11 spot at the meet. The relay team of Zion Lockette, Patchnalie Compere, Royanah Farmer and Alicia Burnett became the 10th Rebel relay team in 11 years to qualify for the national meet.
Both Urrutia and Burnett competed in other events and also earned national berths in those individual events. Urrutia qualified in the men’s 200 meter dash and Burnett qualified in the women’s 100-meter dash.
Urrutia’s path to the NCAA meet began with the preliminary rounds on Wednesday. Out of the first heat, Urrutia ran 20.32 seconds for second place, gaining an automatic qualifier spot to the next round.
In the final round, Urrutia ran a nearly identical 20.34 second time to again take the No. 2 position in his heat and secure his spot at the national meet.
In the women’s 100-meter dash, Burnett navigated her rounds with ease. She comfortably won her preliminary heat in 11.24 seconds, and then blazed a 10.98-second wind legal personal record.
The Rebels also saw two athletes qualify for the national meet in the field events: Logan Kelley in the pole vault and Arvesta Troupe in the men’s high jump.
After his No. 10 finish at the east regional meet, Kelley will head back to the national meet for the second year in a row. The senior will look to improve on his No. 17 pole vault finish from last season’s NCAA meet.
Troupe, who is also a senior, will have his sights set on title defense. Last season, Troupe won the high jump national title, but he placed No. 14 at the NCAA Indoor Championships earlier this season.
However, Troupe looks primed to peak at the right time. To qualify for the national meet this year, he won the high jump title with a jump of 2.16 meters, his second best result all season, just behind his 2.17-meter No. 10 finish at the SEC Championship.
Overall, it was a good meet for the Rebels, and these qualifiers will have two weeks to rest and gear up for some tough competition at the biggest stage in collegiate track and field.
What’s next?
The NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be hosted by the University of Oregon on June 10-13. The full schedule, live results and all other information for the outdoor championships can be found via the NCAA event website. ESPN will broadcast the events.
